Description of the Prior Art
Human advances in the art of flight is the product of machines. Machines are devices for accomplishing a task. They usually involve some activity of motion that is performed by working parts.
In general, aircraft gain motivate and fly using articles of manufacture. Different kinds of aircraft have different capabilities, and different user purposes require different capabilities. Certain capabilities exclude others, so that every design is a collection of compromises.
By official designation there are four categories of aircraft; lighter-than-air, gliders, rotor-craft, and airplanes. Aerodynamics and structural considerations for all these categories of aircraft, with the exception of lighter-than-air machines depend upon airfoil's for lift.
Lift required to raise and fly an aircraft is the product of aerodynamics that mathematically resolve the effects of lift, drag, thrust, and weight. By definition, lift forces act perpendicular to the relative wind. Drag forces act in parallel to the relative wind. Thrust forces usually act in parallel to the line of flight. Weight always acts in the direction of gravity. To simplify, for this exercise, an airfoil is any surface that is designed to obtain lift from the air through which it moves.
Ranges of speeds that must be considered is divided into four speed categories. These are denoted successfully as; subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic. Each denote a speed range, within which aerodynamic design problems differ and require different resolutions. Aerodynamic designed airfoils for each denoted speed range are ingredients of both engineering and compromises, when fabricating machines for flight.
The earliest desires of man to fly in machines were thwarted by the lack of sufficient means of propulsion. Engine thrust to weight ratios have been developed, and the art of engine propulsion has now exceeded the art of airfoil design and usefulness. And we can now ask; do we need airfoils to fly?. As these powerful engines are developed and become available, many aircraft fabricated parts have to be changed and additional fabricated parts added, to aircraft, to compensate and overcome unsafe flight characteristics. There is increased air-friction and air-pressure, vortex anomaly and sound wave encounters, as airspeeds increase to mach I and beyond. Some of the aircraft fabricated parts that are used for lift and guidance are; propellers, rotor-blades, ailerons, rudders, elevators, wing-flaps, spoilers, trim-tabs. All these are attached and coupled by mechanical and electronic means to control their functions from within a control center.
Aircraft flight control systems generally operate and control aircraft around two axes; the vertical axis for horizontal control, and the horizontal axis for vertical control. Coordinated movements of these control surfaces are required to effect smooth flight maneuvers, through the air. To guide an aircraft, in flight, they are maneuvered into unusual attitudes. An unusual attitude is a change from the horizontal plane perpendicular to the earth's gravitational pull. These unusual attitude changes, increase stress upon the aircraft's structure the flight crews, as well as the passengers and effect the safety of the aircraft.
The gross weight of an aircraft is a means to determine the engine propulsion that is require for its motivity. As the gross weights of aircraft's increase engine propulsion increases are required to lift and fly these machines. At some point, in aircraft development, weight limits and propulsion requirements go beyond the economic feasibility to lift and fly these machines. This invention addresses these disadvantages and compromises, by introducing an alternative means for machine flight.
This invention is a powered-heavier-than-air machine. That can ascend and descend vertically under precision control without the need for airfoil designs, for lift or guidance. After the successful use of internal combustion engines in aircraft, another thirty years were required to solve the problems of controlling rotor-craft as a zero horizontal speed take-off and vertical landing machine. The rotor-craft uses airfoil designed rotor-blades to provide lift and guidance.
This invention addresses a multitude of means to change the way we fly, and introduces a machine for flight that will solve many current aviation problems as we move aviation into a more meaningful future. All flight movements such as vertical ascent and descent are continually being considered for development in many forms and shapes of machines for flight. The uses of airfoil flight seems to be the main direction for these developments, as opposed to the elimination of airfoils for lift and guidance. Aircraft using airfoils for lift and guidance have excessive weight problems to overcome, as well as the elimination of external structures attached to the main fuselages of these airplanes.
A means to lower an aircraft to ground level for ground support services would be an advantage. Some military aircraft require little terminal ground support means. However; flight crew personnel fly with the aircraft and are trained to provide ground and flight support needs. Commercial aircraft operators use motorized ground support machines, in conjunction with especially designed terminal settings, to fulfill these commercial transport needs.
The flight and ground functions of this invention, with automatic means to transport will reduce air terminal congestion and many other problems. It will move air commerce into additional locations, away from the present terminals, located near major cities. This flying machine will support the expanding world population and fulfill their needs, as opposed to the economic and social inconveniences, of fixing an old inadequate system of transport, by air.
This aircraft with automated means to transport eliminates the use of airfoil designs for lift and guidance. It replaces the need for airfoils, that are replaced with engine propulsion means within this new aircraft design.